


Coming to Terms

by Sachiel21



Category: RWBY
Genre: Adventure, F/F, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-05-21 02:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6034891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sachiel21/pseuds/Sachiel21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An idea of how team RWBY meet again after the events of Vol. 3 Ch 12 finale. Slow burning Bumbleby and White Rose. "How could I possibly hate you?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look at how Yang and Blake are coping.

“You need to eat.”

Yang turned away from her father and looked out the window at the snow covered tree branch.

“I’m not hungry.”

Her father sighed. “Yang… You can’t just lie here all the time. Why don’t you go for a walk, meet up with some friends?”

“What friends?” Yang asked. All her friends were either dead or gone. Ruby was gone, Weiss was gone, and Blake… Her fist clenched around the bed sheet.

Taiyang stared dejectedly at the floor. He was never particularly good at talking to his daughters, Summer was.

“I know you suffered a great loss…But it would be better for you to come to terms with it sooner than later. It’s not healthy to let it fester.”

“Yeah and you’re such a great role model on how to deal with things!” she snapped, sarcasm dripping off each syllable.

Yang regretted it the minute she said it as she watched her father put his head in his hands. He didn’t deserve that.

After a moment, he sat up and brightened. “I got a letter in the mail from General Ironwood. He says your new arm is ready and we can travel to the Vale safe zone to get it attached.”

Yang unconsciously rubbed at her stump. “Really? It’s ready?”

“Yup.”

The corners of her mouth lifted ever so slightly and she felt something that she hadn’t for a while; hope.  
_____________________

Cries of agony filled the operating room as Yang’s new robotic arm was being attached. Because of the nature of the procedure, Yang would have be semi-conscious in order for them test the efficiency of the nerve sensors. She was strapped to the bed, sweating and gritting her teeth against the pain as they connected the ends of her nerves to the wires.

“Do you need a break?” a worried nurse asked.

“No!” she groaned. “Keep going…”

Slowly the metallic skeletal arm came to life, fingers twitching and bending when she willed them to. The experience was other worldly to Yang. She still couldn’t quite believe that the hard piece of metal was a part of her, now and forever.  
_____________________

Yang would have to spend the next few months in physical therapy learning how to utilize her new arm. She forced her dad to go back to Patch, claiming that she needed space and him hovering over her would just make it harder. Yang knew he wanted to take off after Ruby anyways, the daughter that still had a future… Her therapist told her not to think that way, but she couldn’t help it, she spent hours trying to do the simplest tasks with her robotic hand, and the future looked anything but bright.

One of the exercises was to place a series different shaped blocks in their corresponding holes, more often than not, they wound up on the floor, along with the whole table when Yang lost her temper. That happened a lot in those early days, glasses and food trays thrown against walls, broken door handles, and shattered windows.

Day by day it got better. Yang finally mastered the day to day tasks and was able to start combat training again. Being able to train did a lot for her self-esteem and emotional state. It was a part of her, ever since she was a little girl practicing boxing moves with her dad. For the first time in months, she started to feel like herself again, although she wasn’t sure if she had truly accepted things they way they were yet.

She had locked her feelings, Blake, all the events from that night in a dark box at the pit of her stomach. At times, the contents threatened to spill out, especially at night in that phase shift between sleep and wakefulness. Yang forced herself not to think of Blake and why she left, much too painful like a fire brand brought to her chest. Despite her best efforts though, her thoughts drifted unwittingly back to her raven haired partner like a moth to a flame.  
_____________________

Blake woke up from a restless sleep on a bare mattress in a rundown apartment that she called her temporary home. She had the dream again, moments from that night forever burned in her memory.

_Blake reached for Yang’s hand with a desperate need to hold on to her. She looked so beaten, so frail, like she could float way at any second. She saw the shock on Ruby’s face as she gazed at her unconscious dismembered sister._

_“I’m sorry,” Blake cried, tears filling her eyes and spilling over. “I’m so sorry!”_

_She curled in on herself, laying her head near Yang’s hand. Blake scarcely heard the others talking around her, eyes completely focused on the fallen blonde brawler. She never let go, even when they placed them on separate stretchers. Blake held on, wanting to hold her hand for as long as possible because she knew what she was about to do._

_She was steeling herself for it, ever since she carried Yang away from the monster that was her former partner. She was to blame for the atrocity that had befallen her partner and closest friend. Adam hurt Yang, nearly killed her because of her. She would never be the same again, irreparably damaged because of her. What if he came after them again? How could she ever be in her presence when she would forever be the reason why she lost her arm? Yang would hate her, Blake was sure of it, so she would save her the trouble..._

_The airship was landing, Blake rolled off her stretcher and kneeled beside Yang. She took a moment to memorize her long dark blonde lashes, the faint almost invisible freckles on the tops of her cheeks, the gentle curve of her mouth that always cheered people up and joked. She leaned her head in, breathing in the sweet scent of her breath and placed a kiss on her forehead._

_“I’m sorry,” she whispered, tears streaming down her face._

_The doors opened and she bolted, hearing Sun’s nonsensical protests behind her, running as fast as her legs could carry her, away from it all._

Blake had stayed in the dangerous part of Vale, away from the safe zone. She spent her days gathering any information she could find on the whereabouts of Adam, killing Grimm for practice and to earn some under the table lien. Her thoughts often went to Yang, how she was doing, how she was coping. She even entertained the idea of going to Patch to secretly spy on her, but she stopped herself. Blake knew that she couldn’t be trusted to stay away if she was that close to Yang. She thought if she was able to kill Adam and obtain justice for Yang, maybe, just maybe she could redeem herself in her eyes. But hope was fleeting, she knew Yang would never forgive her, and that’s what she deserved.

Blake sighed and started to gather her combat gear. Beacon, the once shining school, was now a hot bed for Grimm activity because of the frozen dragon perched at the tower. It was the perfect place to train, even though the memories scratched painfully at Blake’s heart, but she accepted it as penance for her failure.  
_____________________

One crisp spring morning Yang decided to head to the school. The decision was impulsive, like others in the past. Winter had finally given up its grip on Vale, and Yang had gotten bored of roaming the fractured city within the confines of the safe zone. She knew the area around Beacon was dangerous and full of Grimm. Yang had yet to try out her new arm and its modified Ember Celica in a real combat situation, and the prospect excited her.

She walked through the courtyard, stepping over cracked and fallen stone pillars. It was eerily quiet. Nothing disturbed her walk as she made her way to the burned out library. The wood was faded, the windows broken, cracked glass on the ground shining through the melting snow, just a shell of the grand building it once was. Blake’s favourite place.

Yang closed her eyes as she remembered the night that had changed her life forever. In that moment, there was only Blake. Her anguished cry of pain as she was stabbed in the stomach. The deep seeded need to stop him from harming her any further. The unbridled fury she felt that he had hurt _her_ , her partner, her best friend. She had never been so angry in her entire life. It all culminated in that moment, a crystallized point in time and space. She didn’t even think she had control over her body at that point, tears in her eyes as she launched forward to her doom. Everything was Blake, Blake was everything. And now there was nothing, just a horrible aching emptiness. Yang didn’t think it was possible, but when Blake left, it hurt more than losing her arm.  
_____________________

Blake had seen her first, that unmistakable flash of golden blonde hair in the otherwise grey surroundings. She looked good, albeit a little thinner than she remembered, her violet eyes slightly sunken in on her otherwise flawless face. She was wearing dark brown leather jacket, both of the long sleeves were filled out and for one blissful moment Blake had a wonderful fantastical idea that what happened that night was just twisted figment of her imagination, that Yang was still whole and happy. But alas, with her sharp faunus eyes, she saw the silver metallic sheen of her right hand and she knew that this was the new reality.

Blake followed her silently through the shadows, watching her every movement as she walked through the ruins of the school and made her way to the library. Yang was here, Yang was alive. Blake longed to talk to her, longed to touch her and confirm her existence, but she couldn’t. She was doing well without her, without her baggage, without her psycho ex-partner, and with that thought, Blake was content to just watch her friend for a little while longer. As long as she was okay, she didn’t mind.  
_____________________

Yang took off at full sprint, running away before the tears could fall. She ran until her lungs protested and her chest heaved, hunched over, barely standing with her hands on her knees. _Why? Why did this have to happen?_ Yang mustered all her strength to hold back the tears. Then she heard an ominous growl, two Ursai circling her, no doubt attracted to all the negative feelings stirring in her heart. Yang smiled bitterly, a choked chuckle escaping her mouth.

“You monsters chose the wrong day to mess with me.”

She leapt forward in a full attack, straight punch with her left followed with a hammer fist through the skull with her right.

 _Too slow_ , Yang thought as her prosthetic arm whirred, the movement slowed by the turning of metallic gears. _Too heavy_. Her right arm was stuck in the cracked white and red mask of the first Ursa, she struggled to pull it out of the fleshy black ink, months of inactivity finally taking its toll. She turned around and wrenched herself to the left as a vicious swipe of claws caught her right arm, crying out in pain as the silver limb roughly detached, falling to the ground in a heap of metal and sparks.

Yang backed away. Her sleeve was ripped but thankfully the smaller metal apparatus connected to her actual nerves and flesh was still intact. She continued to back away, watching the Ursa stalk threateningly towards her, sharp teeth bared in a twisted grin, like it was contemplating how best to kill her. A stone pillar met Yang’s back and she slumped down against it. _So pitiful_. Just a short time ago, dealing with two Ursai was child’s play, and now she was going to die at the end of their claws.  
_____________________

Fear gripped Blake as she watched Yang slump down, apparently resigning herself to her fate, blatantly giving up. Blake’s body reacted on its own, and half a second later, her sword was through the Ursa’s head, standing in front of Yang who was staring wide-eyed at her.

Anger at her partner was the first emotion that flitted through Blake’s mind. _What's wrong with you? Why didn’t you fight? Don’t you want to live anymore?_ But it left as quickly as it came, when she realized she had no right to feel that way after what she had done to her.

Blake wanted to run, she wanted to so badly but she was frozen on the spot by Yang’s intense lilac gaze. She winced at the pained angry expression on Yang’s face as she sat dejectedly at the base of the pillar. Blake extended a hand and Yang slapped it away, choosing to slowly push herself up using her legs and one arm.

It was too much, the fury, the hatred, the exhaustion in her face. Blake turned to run, away from all the feelings that threatened to choke her, but she stopped hearing Yang’s voice.

“Running away again?” she asked bitterly. “Is it because you can’t stand to look at me? Because I’m crippled and broken?”

Blake’s voice croaked out on its own, “W-what? No!” She tried to approach but Yang shoved her back.

“Then why did you leave? Why did you abandon me when I needed you the most?!”

A lump settled in Blake’s throat and she was suddenly unable to talk.

Yang shoved her again and looked at her feet. “I tried so hard to forget you. I tried so hard to stop caring, but I couldn’t!” she screamed, looking up at Blake with tears streaming down her face. “You stupid, selfish, coward!”

It felt good. Felt good to get shoved and yelled at. She deserved it. In her mind she was a worthless awful person. All the mistakes she made lead to the person that she cared about the most getting hurt and maimed, and Blake wished for more punishment.

“It was all my fault… I thought you hated me…” Blake said, voice barely a whisper, directed more to herself than anything.

Yang was stomping towards her and Blake was hoping that she’d strike her down.

“You idiot!” Yang yanked her into a fierce one-armed embrace. “How could I possibly hate you?!” she cried.

Yang clutched at her desperately, crying her heart out as Blake braced against her, completely in shock. The words she spoke were alien to her. _Yang didn’t hate her?_ After a few long moments standing there getting rocked by Yang’s trembling body, Blake returned the hug, holding her as tight as she could, mumbling apologies between sobs.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

They were both ugly criers, eyes unrecognizably scrunched, hot salty tears squeezing through, each breath shuddering uncontrollably, and snot dripping from their noses.

“Don’t ever leave again!”

“I won’t. I promise. I never should have left you, I won’t ever leave again,” Blake gasped into her hair. “I promise, I promise.”

Blake muttered that same phrase over and over incoherently they held each other, sobbing and crying. They stayed like for hours until the sun started to set, signaling the end of the day and the start of a new tomorrow that they would face together.  
_____________________

**The Next Day**

“Does it hurt?”

Yang wanted to say ‘not at all’ or make up some joke but nothing came to her, so she settled for the truth. “Sometimes.”

“What do we do now?”

“We get Weiss back and then we go after Ruby, simple as that.”

“Yang...?”

“Hmm?”

“Nothing…”

“Tell me later, okay?”

“Okay…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that finale, yeah. I made an AMV (anime music video) to make myself feel better, if you google ‘bumbleby make it to me’ you can find it on my tumblr Bumbleby Addict (username sachiel21). It was never meant to be sad, but apparently some viewers cried when they saw it, I guess that what happens when you put a song about love and longing with some of the clips from the later episodes. Sigh.


	2. Atlas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake and Yang go to Atlas. We get a look at how Weiss is doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I thought I was done, but I guess I'm not done. I liked what I had written so I decided to continue this, kind of exploring how I think volume 4 would go down while sticking as close to canon as I can. For length, I'm planning around 10 chapters? We'll see what happens. Without further ado, here is the second chapter.

Blake could barely keep her eyes open as they made their way off of the airship. It was an eight hour ride to Atlas from Vale, with their meager funds they could only afford tickets in the cargo bay with no seats, so they sat on the cold metal floor the whole time.

Yang lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Come on, the hotel is just around the corner."

In a daze, Blake stood back as Yang handled the check-in process, too tired to even pay attention anymore.

When they got to the room, she had to resist the urge to just collapse on the bed. There were things to do, things to plan if they were going to get Weiss back. She sat on the edge of one of the twin beds and watched Yang roll out her right shoulder, working the stiffness out it.

"Do you need help?" Blake asked

"No, I don't need your help," Yang replied shortly. She softened, "I… I've got this."

Yang shrugged off her leather jacket and pressed a button on her prosthetic arm that released the latches so it could be removed. Even though Blake was exhausted and out of it, she didn't miss the grimace of pain that flashed across Yang's face when she took her arm off.

Blake acted without thinking and suddenly her arms were wrapped around Yang's waist from behind. Yang stiffened from her touch and they both stood frozen for a long moment.

Finally Yang spoke, "I never blamed you for this. Not once."

"…I know… I know that now…" Blake said into her back.

Yang slowly turned around and faced her partner. She blinked back blankly at her, golden pupils contrasting starkly with the dark circles around her eyes. Blake still looked so sad, like she could break into tears at any moment.

"You're not going to cry again are you? Cause if you cry, then I'm going to cry, and I don't think I have any tears left after yesterday," Yang said, trying to insert some humour in her voice.

Blake shook her head vigourously.

"Good."

Yang reached out despite herself and stroked Blake's cheek with the back of her left hand slowly making her way down her shoulder and awkwardly across to the right side of her stomach. She paused, looking up at Blake for permission which she gave with an almost imperceptible nod. Yang slipped her fingers just underneath her vest and felt a small jagged two-inch scar where she was so cruelly stabbed.

The anger was still as fresh as it was that night. One day she'd pay Adam back for what he did to them, one day, but not today.

Yang pulled back her hand and sighed. _We're just two screwed up people aren't we?_

"We should probably get some sleep, might be a long day tomorrow."

"Okay," Blake replied automatically and without energy.

Yang stirred in her sleep in the middle of the night from the sound of Blake's voice from the bed next to hers.

"No… No! No… Stop… No, please… Don't hurt her!"

Yang's eyes snapped open, she was wide awake now. She quietly got out from the covers and stood over Blake's bed, watching her. She was twisting and turning in her sleep mumbling the words 'no' and 'stop' with her bangs stuck to her sweaty forehead.

Yang silently slipped into bed beside her and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close to her body. Gradually, Blake stopped mumbling and her breathing became deeper as she started to sleep more soundly. Yang didn't leave her side, determined to chase all her nightmares away.

When Blake woke up the next day, she felt more rested than she had for months. Yang was in the bed next to hers, fully dressed with her arm on, flipping channels on the TV. She smiled at Blake when she noticed she was awake, "Hey, sleep well?"

She rubbed her eyes with her fists, "Yeah I slept really well actually… How did you know?"

"Oh, no reason... Anyways it's a good thing because the next stop is..." Yang grinned at Blake, a familiar devilish glint in her eye. "Schnee Manor."

  


* * *

  


Weiss Schnee sat primly at the dining table, carefully cutting her apple slices in uniform pieces then dipping them in a small bowl of yogurt. Her father was at the table reading the newspaper.

"Ah dust prices are rising, that's one good thing about this chaos happening in Vale. People are just stockpiling on dust."

Weiss wrinkled her nose in disgust at the thought that someone could be happy about the situation at Vale, let alone her own father. He continued to read the paper, oblivious to her feelings as usual.

"Is there any news from Vale?" Weiss asked hopefully.

"Oh, Grimm are still running rampant… Nothing to concern yourself with dear."

It was easy for him to say that, not a day went by where she didn't think about her teammates. She had left so abruptly when her father and sister had arrived, Ruby wasn't even awake yet, Yang was in the infirmary, and Blake had disappeared. Weiss remembered that night like it was yesterday.

_A bright blinding light lit up the sky from the top of the tower. Weiss had barely a second to react when she saw a limp black and red figure falling off the side of the building. She threw off a flurry of white glyphs stacked one after another to slow the descent of her fall and ran over to catch her. Ruby fell into her arms and they both hit the ground hard in a crumpled heap. Weiss frantically examined her for any injuries. She was unconscious, but breathing._

_"Ruby! Ruby wake up! Of all the foolish things… You… You better not be hurt!" Weiss said gently giving her shoulders a shake._

_Nothing. No reaction. Weiss glanced up at the tower. The top of it was completely destroyed but the Grimm dragon was still perched against it, unmoving and seemingly frozen. There was no sign of Pyrrha or Cinder. What exactly happened up there?_

_Weiss placed Ruby's limp arm around her shoulders and started making her way back to the docks, half-carrying and half-dragging her at a jilted pace. Thankfully, the Grimm seemed to have dispersed after the flash of light filled the area. Weiss looked forlornly at the remnants of the shattered school and boarded the airship with the remaining students and teachers._

_When they got to the safe zone, Ruby was promptly taken from her to the makeshift infirmary tent they had set up in the middle of the street. She saw her sister Yang laying on a cot unconscious and alone? Where was Blake? Weiss was about to find Sun to ask him what happened when she felt a firm hand on her shoulder._

_"Weiss."_

_"Winter? What are you doing here?"_

_"We received a distress call from General Ironwood's ship right before the communication cut out. Are you okay?"_

_"I'm fine… but my…" Friends. "Teammates are injured."_

_Winter nodded, looking stern with her white hair pulled back into a bun and blue eyes burning with a cold intensity._

_"We have to get you back to Atlas where it is safe."_

_"What? I can't leave, there are Grimm everywhere, I need to help-"_

_"This is not up for discussion little sister. There have already been reports of Goliaths heading towards the school, those are high level Grimm and you're just a huntress in training-"_

_"I summoned an Ice Knight!"_

_Winter looked surprised for a moment and then laughed._

_"That is a very advanced technique, are you sure you didn't imagine it? Just last week you couldn't even summon a Beowolf."_

_Weiss looked down at her feet. "But I did though…" she said in a small voice._

_"Anyways, we don't have time to dilly dally, Father's airship has already arrived."_

_"Father? He's here?" Weiss asked, surprised and anxious._

_As if on cue, Weiss caught sight of her father with two Schnee Dust Company Guards over Winter's shoulder._

_"He's come to take you home where it is safe."_

_But I don't want to go home, Weiss thought._

"Weiss dear, are you day dreaming again?" her father asked.

"Sorry, what was that you said?"

"I said this afternoon you should go over the company's quarterly results in preparation for the board meeting. You would have been well-versed in the company's workings by now if you hadn't signed up for that godforsaken school… My little heiress gallivanting around with those ruffians, the idea!"

"I am not _little…_ " Weiss stated each word slowly with ice in her voice. "May I be excused please?"

Weiss' father stared at her with an unreadable expression in his steely blue eyes before he nodded. Weiss promptly left the table and stomped through the long white marble hallways of the mansion back to her bedroom. She slammed the door, and paced her room, pinching the bridge of her nose. The atmosphere was absolutely suffocating, Weiss felt like she couldn't breathe. _How did everything go so wrong_?

Almost on the verge of tears, Weiss sat on the edge of her bed and started taking deep breaths to calm herself. She heard a tapping sound at her window. Curious, she walked up and looked outside. The sight shocked her; Yang Xiao Long in all her golden haired glory was lobbing pebbles at her window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah so there you have it, my first time writing from Weiss' point of view. It's kind of a challenge for me because I feel more of a connection to Blake and Yang, but I am enjoying it none the less. Oh and I'm having a bit of a comment drought with this story on Archive right now, got a few kudos but zero comments:( . If you have a couple seconds to leave a comment, I would love to see what people are thinking so far.


	3. Team WBY and RNJR

"Pssst Weiss! We're here to rescue you!" Yang whisper yelled.

Weiss looked at her aghast and opened her window.

"Wh-what are you doing here? We have guards here that will shoot you on sight!"

"Blake's keeping a lookout."

"Blake? She's here too?" Weiss asked, looking around for the faunus.

Yang nodded. "Jump, I'll catch you."

Weiss eyed the three story drop to the blonde below. "I am not jumping. Er, stay there, I'll be right back."

She heard Yang's frustrated cry of her name as she ran to her closet, stuffing clothes and jewelry into a suitcase. Just as she was about to leave, Weiss grabbed a page from her letterhead and started scribbling a note:

_Father,_

_I'm leaving. Don't try to find me. I don't want to go board meetings, I want to be a huntress._

_Sincerely,_

_Weiss_

She went back to the window and tossed down her suit case. "Here, catch."

"What the-" Yang muttered, barely catching it.

With Myrtenaster in her hand, she set up a number of glyphs in a descending pattern and then jauntily hopped down them like they were a staircase.

"Show off, what was wrong with my way?" Yang asked.

Weiss feigned deep thought with a finger on her chin. "Hmm, I don't know, a broken neck?"

"C'mere you grouchy princess," Yang surprising her with a hug. "Man you're skinny, what did they feed you here?"

"There was a regimented diet prepared by the cooks... Anyways where's Blake?"

"She outside the gate in the back," Yang gesturing with her hand.

That's when Weiss noticed the silver glint from her fingers. She had almost forgotten.

Yang must have caught the realization on her face because she looked away quickly, avoiding her eyes.

A high pitched whistle rang through the air.

"We have to get going."

"Right."

They ran to the gate and slipped through the opening Yang had made by bending the bars. Blake slipped down from a nearby tree. Amber met light blue for a moment, and a nod was exchanged before Blake took off running into the woods.

"Come on Weiss, keep up!" Yang said.

They ran past the trees that were still bare and grey from winter, and made it to a hidden trail in the middle of the forest. The three of them stopped to catch their breath.

Hunched over with her hands on her thighs, Weiss asked, "Where's Ruby?"

Blake and Yang looked away at the same moment.

"Where's Ruby?" Weiss asked more pointedly.

"She's gone…" Yang whispered.

"What!" Weiss' heart suddenly leapt into her throat.

"No, not that way!" Yang yelled indignantly. "My dad thinks she went to Haven… To go after Cinder…"

Weiss couldn't believe what she was hearing, Cinder beat Ozpin and Pyrrha, and Ruby went after her _alone_? "And you just let her go?"

Yang, once the boisterous cheerful brawler, wilted, clearly ashamed. "I wasn't in the best frame of mind at the time…"

Weiss glared daggers at Blake and saw guilt in her eyes. She walked up and slapped her upside the head.

"Ow!"

"How could you do that to her?" she asked accusingly, and for a moment Blake thought she meant causing Yang to lose her arm but she quickly clarified, "How could you leave her like that?"

Blake had no answer. There was nothing she could say that could justify what she did.

"You broke her, you know. I could tell by the letters she sent me."

Blake shrank away with each word, physically pained by each syllable.

"Weiss stop… We've hashed things out already…" Yang hesitated. "We're okay now…"

"But she abandoned you in your time of need!"

Blake narrowed her eyes at her, anger spilling over. "What I did was wrong, but I'm not going to stand here and be judged by you. I didn't see you staying to help," she said coolly.

Weiss recoiled like a snake bit her. "I had no choice!" she said indignantly. "My father… He made me go with him… He said it wasn't safe… He made me go back to Atlas…" Weiss said in an increasingly small voice.

"Right, and you have no will of your own."

Weiss opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Yang.

"Guys stop! We don't have time for this right now, we have to find Ruby!" Yang walked a few paces and stretched her arms behind her head, blowing out a deep breath. "We have to find her, we have to… Oh man, the last time I saw her, she said 'I love you' and I didn't say it back… What kind of a sister am I?"

Blake and Weiss glanced at each other in surprise, temporarily forgetting that they were mad at each other.

Yang continued on, "What if she's in danger, what if I never see her again!" She balled her left fist and slammed it into a tree, looking down.

A long silence passed between the three of them before Blake placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure she knows you love her, Yang."

Weiss tentatively placed a hand on the other shoulder. "Yes, I mean how could she not? With all those god awful embraces that you subject her to."

"We'll find her, Yang," Blake promised.

Weiss nodded in agreement.

After a long moment, Yang felt a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "You guys are right…" She extended her arms out and in one quick movement, she captured Blake and Weiss in modified head lock, pulling them close. "Let's go Team WBY!"

"Team Wooby?" Weiss asked. She had to admit that it didn't have the same ring as Team RWBY.

"Yes," Yang answered. She lowered her voice and whispered suggestively into their ears, "Now kiss and make up…"

Their eyes widened, and a blush crept on to their faces. Blake and Weiss shoved Yang back hard.

"That's obscene you oaf!" Weiss cried shrilly, stomping away.

Blake gave her a disgusted look and started walking ahead, catching up to Weiss.

"What'd I say?" Yang asked innocently. She smiled to herself, her plan worked. They were united in mutual annoyance.

  


* * *

  


"Ice flower!"

Nora Valkyrie looked at her confused, wielding her hammer Magnhild. "Wha?"

"I mean, lightning flower?" Ruby said, sounding unsure. "Um, let's just kill that thing!"

"Yeah!"

Together Ruby and Nora sent off sniper rounds laced with lightning bolts at a large Death Stalker that was coming towards them. The Death Stalker reared back one final time and fell over dead.

Nora and Ruby high fived and cleared the chambers of their weapons.

"Nice job, you two."

"Ooo Ren did you see, did you see? Me and Ruby did this awesome new move! What did you call it again?"

"Lightning flower," Ruby mumbled.

Ren smiled serenely at the excited ginger jumping up and down in front of him. "It certainly looked effective."

He sent a knowing glance to Ruby who was looking down at her feet, drawing circles in the dirt. "Er, Nora why don't we go to the field and you can give me a demonstration," he said, dragging her away.

"Eh, but it's a team move…" Nora argued, her voice getting quieter with the distance.

After they had left, Ruby sat down on a rotted log and opened her scroll. There was no reception due to the tower being down, but she didn't need reception to look at the photos she had saved on her scroll. The photos might as well have been from another lifetime, a various assortment of Team RWBY and Team JNPR, all smiles and laughs. She paused at a picture of her and Weiss; her arm around Weiss' shoulder, the other hand making a peace sign, grinning while Weiss was in the middle of an eye roll. The picture made Ruby happy and sad at the same time.

"Seems like so long ago, huh?"

Ruby looked up in surprise, quickly putting her scroll away. "Yeah it does…"

Jaune took a seat next to her, and they sat together in silence for a moment.

"Do you miss them?" he asked.

Ruby laughed nervously. "Nah, why would I? I bet they're all doing fine!" A lie and she knew it. "Anyways it doesn't matter how I feel because we have an important mission to do!" Ruby tried to say in a chipper tone.

He smiled gently at her. "It's okay if you do, Ruby. I, uh, really want to thank you for letting us tag along…"

Ruby felt a dull ache in her chest, a vortex of guilt and sadness swirling in her heart. "Aw Jaune, come on, you don't have to thank me..." _I'm a failure, I couldn't save her_. "You don't have to thank me for anything… I'm just… I'm so sorry..." The words came out raw like there was sand in throat.

She didn't have to say what she was sorry for, he already knew what she meant.

"It's not your fault," he answered quickly. "It was that… Monster Cinder…" His fists shook in anger, and his blue eyes darkened.

"Jaune…" Ruby tentatively placed a hand on his back to calm him. It made her nervous when he got like this.

Jaune took a deep breath and he managed to replace the soft smile on his face, although it didn't reach his eyes. "If we keep this pace up, I think we can make it to Haven by next week."

Ruby stood up slinging Crescent Rose over her shoulder and nodded. _Here we go_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed the Freezerburn friendship and Bee's Schnees tease. I might write a Bee's Schnees fic one of these days... Anyways if you have a couple of seconds, comments or reviews are always appreciated. Thanks!


	4. An Aside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss pines. Yang and Blake work some more things out.

"You seriously have the Schnee Crest on all your clothes?"

"Hush you."  


* * *

  
W

Despite her note to her father to not try and find her, he called the police, contacted the Atlesian Military, and sent out a search party. Weiss' picture was streaming everywhere on the holographic billboards. The airship stations were definitely out of the question now. The trio was at a loss on what to do until Blake piped up that she knew a faunus who owned a ferry that could help them out.

That's how they wound up on a rickety boat set on a course to the kingdom of Mistral. Weiss sat forlornly on a bench at the bow of the ship, staring at the cottony white clouds against the blue sky with her scroll open in her hand. Blake and Yang were sparring on the lower deck, and she could hear their muted grunts and thuds through the weathered wooden boards.

Without the CCT, scrolls were nothing more than glorified digital clocks and photo albums. Weiss glanced down briefly at a picture of Ruby not looking at the camera and fiddling with Crescent Rose. Ruby, of course she would be looking at a picture of her partner again. She had been on her mind a lot lately, wondering what she was doing, if she was safe, and if they were looking at the same sky even though they were miles apart.

She chuckled wistfully to herself at how far they had come. When she first met Ruby, she found her absolutely infuriating. Everything she did got on her nerves, from the way she talked to the way she moved. Then she decapitated the Nevermore during their initiation and her feelings started to change.

As much as it pained her to admit it, Ruby _was_ a good leader. She was able to think outside the box and come up with plans that one else could think of. She cared more about others than she did herself and her clumsy awkward way of talking became slightly endearing to Weiss after a while.

It was during those long months trapped in her father's mansion that Weiss began to realize how much Ruby and her other teammates meant to her. Even with her defenses securely up, they had still managed to worm their way in and create a place for themselves in her heart, especially Ruby.

These new feelings made Weiss uneasy. Her father always said that friends made you weak, and she was inclined to believe him when she was at boarding school, crying in the bathroom during recess over such trivial matters like 'hurt feelings.' She had never let anyone in before, and now she had something to lose and the prospect frightened her. Weiss sighed, trying to clear her mind of thoughts and things outside her control, and continued to stare at the sky.  


* * *

  
BY

"Again!" Yang yelled, picking herself off the wooden deck. She had accidentally bit the inside of her cheek from the impact of the blow and tasted iron on her tongue.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You've never held back before, I don't expect you start now."

"Yang…"

"No, don't look at me like that! I need to get better, I need to get stronger. I'll almost let myself get beaten by a couple of Ursai." _Unforgivable_ , she thought. Yang spat a mouthful of blood on to the deck. "How else am I going to beat that monster?"

Blake paled at the question, unwanted memories flooding back to her.

"He was the one wasn't he? The person dear to you who changed...?"

Blake nodded silently, averting her eyes in shame. "I never should have compared you to him, I'm so sorry, I-"

"Stop apologizing!" Yang bellowed. She placed her hand over the left side of her chest, feeling a pain there. "You never told me why you did it… You never told me why you left. Blake why? Why did you leave me?"

 _Why?_ The question that gnawed at Yang for so many months.

 _Why?_ Blake painfully thought. _Shame? Guilt? Penance? Anger? Revenge? But above all… Fear_.

"I was scared, Yang…" Blake whispered. "I was scared of what he might do if I was near you… He said he would destroy everything that I…" Loved. She checked herself, "That I cared about… What was I supposed to do, huh?! I couldn't stop him. I was so helpless… I couldn't stand the thought of you getting hurt again because of me!" Tears were welling up in Blake's eyes now.

"We fight," Yang said simply and resolutely. She looked down and made a fist against her chest, a promise to herself. "We fight. We get stronger and we move forward. We. Together. Partners."

Blake couldn't believe that Yang still wanted to be partners with her after everything that happened. How could she forgive her, just like that? Blake felt like she wasn't worthy of something so pure and good, but like a thief in the night, she would take it. She would wholeheartedly accept forgiveness as long as she could repay Yang's kindness for the rest of her life.

Blake tried to sniff back her tears. "Partners…" she mumbled in affirmation, her voice quavering with each inhale of breath.

Yang looked at her with wide eyes, only now noticing her outpouring of emotion. "Oh fuck."

She was immediately in front of Blake, wiping her tears with her thumbs. "No, don't cry please?" she pleaded.

Blake squinted back at her, tears streaming out of the corners of her eyes and dripping over Yang's fingers.

"Please don't cry," Yang said, getting choked up herself. "The salt will rust my new hand," she joked with her own lilac eyes shimmering.

Blake choked back a short sob-laugh and buried her head against Yang's shoulder, breathing in her scent; sweet grapefruit with a hint of smoke from her semblance. She smelled like 'coming home'. _I never want to be apart from you again_.


	5. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a reunion of sorts, but it doesn't happen very smoothly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay, I had some trouble formulating this chapter. Hope it turned out okay.

They were laughing. On the porch of a dark grey spooky looking house located on the outskirts of the city, Mercury and Emerald were _laughing_. Ruby scowled as she stared through the scope of her rifle.

"What do you see?" Jaune whispered impatiently.

"Mercury and Emerald on the porch." A petite pink and brown haired girl came into view, smiling blithely at grey and green pair. "And Neo."

Ruby frowned, she should have known that the parasol wielding assassin would have found a way to return after her impromptu flight off of Ironwood's airship.

"Any sign of…"

Ruby shook her head and continued watching. Ren and Nora were on look out just beyond the trees while Ruby and Jaune were hunkered down on a small hill overlooking the house. They had gotten a tip from a nearby village that some strange people had moved into an abandoned house a few miles away.

Strange was one way to describe them, vindictive was another, and evil seemed more fitting. Team RNJR had been watching the house for the better part of the morning, nothing much was happening until Mercury and Emerald came out to the porch, basking in the afternoon light.

Ruby sighed and pulled away from the scope, she was getting a cramp in her shoulder from not moving for such a long time. She glanced over at Jaune who was wound up as tight as a spring, silently seething at the scene.

"Those bastards…" he muttered quietly under his breath.

They had spent the entire morning watching the house. Ruby didn't really know what they were going to do next. They had no hope of beating them in a head to head fight, completely outclassed in power and numbers. She was about to say something when a black sedan pulled up the dusty driveway to the house.

Ruby nearly flipped Crescent Rose end over end getting back into position with her eye in the scope. The car stopped for a time and a red-headed bull faunus stepped out of the car, straightening the collar of his suit jacket; Adam Taurus. It was unmistakable. She knew what he looked like from the news casts about the high ranking member of the White Fang responsible for countless casualties during the siege of Beacon, and the maiming of a young huntress in training; her own sister Yang.

Ruby had to muster every ounce of restraint not to launch herself toward him and swing her scythe at his neck. He was the monster who took her sister's arm, and here he was, smoothing the wrinkles on his sleeve as walked casually up to the house.

But Ruby had no time to react, just then, a slim figure in a dark red dress stepped out of the car, Cinder. At the sight of that lithe familiar silhouette swaying slowly back and forth toward the house, Jaune bolted forward.

"Jaune, no!"

Ruby used her semblance to tackle him to the ground, both of them rolling down the hill in jumbled tangle of limbs. Jaune groaned in pain, in the fall he had twisted his ankle. Ren and Nora came out of their hiding spots and bounded down after them, helping Jaune up as he glared angrily at Ruby. Thankfully, they hadn't been spotted and they were able to help him hobble into forest where they could hide out of sight.

Ruby looked at Jaune meekly out of the corner of her eye, she could tell he was angry. "…I'm sorry," she began.

Jaune pushed Ren and Nora's arms away. "Why did you do that?" he demanded. "I was about to get justice for Pyrrha!"

Ruby winced from the tone of his voice, and had no reply. She had witnessed Cinder's power first hand and just couldn't stand by and watch another friend get murdered by her.

"I didn't want you to get hurt-"

"You interfered! I had the perfect shot at her!"

Ren and Nora exchanged a worried look and glanced sympathetically at Ruby but quickly averted their eyes.

"This is just like you to do something like this, getting involved in things that don't concern you!"

Ruby felt the corners of her eyes start to sting, she wasn't used to getting yelled at, especially from the first friend she made at Beacon. Jaune had changed. Cinder did that to him.

Suddenly a voice rang out, "Hey! Don't talk to my sister like that!"

Ruby turned around to see Yang standing there with her jaw set and eyes blazing but still violet in colour. Standing behind her was Blake, and Ruby's heart nearly stopped when she saw Weiss standing a little further back. A charge went through the air when their eyes locked. Her white haired partner looked elated to see her, maybe even a little happy?

Ruby took a closer look at her sister's prosthetic arm glinting in the light shining through the spring leaves. It looked really cool. She remembered marveling at the designs her uncle Qrow had showed her shortly before she left. Dust, how many months had passed since she last saw everyone? With the two teams together in the same space, everything felt eerily familiar but different as well. Of course it wasn't the same anymore. It could never be after what they had lost.

 _Loss_. Yang and Jaune were still yelling at each other.

"What gives you the right? Do you think you are the only person who lost something?" Yang asked bitterly, her metallic hand curling into a fist.

Jaune hesitated at that. "I… I loved her… And she was ripped away from me!" He hung his head low, looking deeply ashamed.

The group became silent. It was so quiet that they could hear their own hearts beating and the wind rustling through the trees.

Jaune was the first to move, hobbling towards his teammates. "Come on, let's go."

"Where are you going?" Ruby asked.

"Away from here."

"Wait!"

"What do you care, Ruby? You have your real team back now, you don't have to deal with us substitutes anymore."

Ren and Nora looked at them apologetically before walking away with Jaune.

Ruby watched them leave dejectedly, standing frozen on the spot.

"You don't need them anyways," Yang muttered.

"Agh! Why did you say that?"

Yang looked confused and hurt. "What? He was acting like a total asshole. Excuse me for trying to stick up for you."

"No, it's not about that!" Ruby let out a long shuddering breath. "Everything is so screwed up now…" she said.

"Look, it's okay now," Yang said soothingly, thinking that she was still upset about Jaune. "I'm back, _we're back_ , we can be a team again."

 _Team_? That was a trigger word for Ruby at that moment, she wasn't even sure she knew what it meant anymore.

"How can we be a team again?" Ruby asked in a choked whisper, emotions boiling over. "You told me I could do whatever I wanted and that you were just going to lie there!"

Yang winced at the memory.

Ruby whirled over to Blake. "And you, how could you run away? How could you leave my sister like that?"

Blake bowed her head and stared at her feet in apology.

Ruby turned to Weiss but hesitated and looked away, tears gathering in her eyes.

"I just wanted to help people!" she cried. "And I couldn't even help Pyrrha… I wasn't fast enough, I was too late, she died right in front of my eyes and I couldn't do anything at all! What good is that?!"

There was no answer. She was only met with a long silence from the other three girls.

"Let's go," Weiss said calmly.

Blake and Yang snapped their heads toward her in shock.

"What are you talking about, Weiss? We can't leave without Ruby."

"Well, it's obvious she doesn't want to be on our team anymore," she said matter-of-factly. "That she hasn't needed us, thought about us, or missed us…"

Ruby looked at Weiss in utter dismay, unable to form words.

Weiss continued on, her voice softening, "That she hasn't spent every waking hour worrying about us, and wondering how we're doing… That she hasn't missed our smiles, or the annoying way we talk, or the presence of our company…"

Weiss felt something wet roll down her cheek and on to the back of her hand. _What is this_? She quickly turned on her heel and was about to storm off when she felt something heavy crash into her, squeezing her tight.

"No!" Ruby sobbed. "Don't leave me!"

Weiss instinctively wrapped her arms around Ruby in response, now also sobbing uncontrollably. "Don't touch me!" she said as she pulled her closer and held her tight, the words opposite to her action.

Blake and Yang looked at each other, a little teary eyed themselves and joined the red and white team members in a group hug.

"Shh, shh… It will all be okay…"


	6. Reconnaissance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There might be a lot going on in this chapter, hold on to your butts!

The girls sat around in a circle on some stones, the quiet comforting and not suffocating like it was before. Weiss and Ruby were looking down at their hands and feet, shy all of a sudden after the tears had stopped.

Yang glanced at the two of them awkwardly. "So… What do we do now?"

Ruby sighed. What do they do now?

"Uncle Qrow just told me he had a lead in Haven before I left. I guess he wanted me to get information? It's been so long since I've last seen him…"

"Alright, a spy mission!" Yang exclaimed.

There was just one thing.

"Yang… He's here."

Ruby didn't have to elaborate with the way she said 'He.' It didn't take very long for Yang to go stock still and pale. Blake noticed her reaction and obstinately wedged her fingers in between Yang's, lacing their hands together in a shaky hold. So that monster was here.

"It's fine…" Yang said, her voice two octaves lower and avoiding her teammates' eyes.

"Yang…" Blake said, squeezing her hand.

"I said it's fine," Yang said doggedly. "So what's the plan?"

"I suppose we should continue watching the house," Weiss said. "See if we can obtain some clues on what they are planning and relay the information to your uncle."

The team nodded in agreement about the plan, and set off together to a hiding place closer to the house.  


* * *

  
Hours had passed, and night was starting to fall. Not a lot was happening. Emerald and Mercury had left the house in the car earlier and still weren't back yet. Ruby could not see inside the house because the windows were blocked out with thick heavy curtains. She wanted so badly to have some idea of what they were plotting, who they were planning to hurt next so they could do everything they could to prevent it.

Ruby glanced to the side of her, Yang looked like she was about to nod off, Blake looked extremely anxious with her faunus ears folded down against her head, and Weiss… She looked calm and collected, staring resolutely ahead, a trait that she always admired about her. Even though things were still kind of bad, Ruby was happy that team RWBY was back together again.

Suddenly the car drove up noisily back into view, stopping abruptly in front of the house. Mercury and Emerald exited the vehicle, walking around and dragging three figures out of the back seat. They had black hoods over their heads and their hands tied behind their backs. They stumbled forward as Mercury and Emerald shoved them toward the backyard.

This new development put the team on edge, there were hostages involved now, other lives in danger. They looked at each other and silently crept to a different hiding spot where they could see the back yard. There was a large pile of sticks and logs in the middle of it, and Mercury made the figures kneel in front of it by kicking the back of their legs. One of the figures was smaller than the other two and yelped when he did it. The sound was unmistakable. It was the voice of a child's.

Each member of team RWBY unconsciously tightened their grips on their weapons, ready to intervene at a moment's notice.

Cinder walked out of the house at a slow languid pace with Adam and Neo by her side. With a swipe of her hand she set the sticks on fire, creating a large bon fire that towered over everyone. With another gesture of the hand, she beckoned for the hood to be removed from one of the larger figures. A middle aged man with graying hair cowered before her.

"So nice of you to join us Headmaster, I trust Emerald and Mercury have treated you well?"

The green and grey pair smirked at this.

"Please! Don't hurt my family, they're not involved!"

"Tsk, tsk. I wouldn't dream of hurting them… As long as you answer my questions satisfactorily."

"Anything!"

"Where is Ozpin?"

The man paled at the question. "I-I don't know. He disappeared…"

Cinder scowled at his answer. "You're lying."

"Please! I have no idea where he is."

"You headmasters have a secret pact to protect each other under certain circumstances…" She looked at him with a piercing gold stare. "Such as these. One last chance little man…"

Mercury grabbed the smallest figure and roughly ripped off the hood, holding a frightened little boy by the collar of his shirt. Emerald did the same with the other figure, yanking the crying woman's hair back and holding her blade against her neck. The headmaster was stunned into silence, fear overriding every rational thought. He tried but couldn't stutter any words out.

"Too late. I'm sorry that it had to be this way… Oh well, the queen must have her sacrifices after all." Cinder nodded at Emerald and Mercury.

Before they could even move a muscle, a bullet from a pistol and sniper round hit them squarely in the chest, and they stumbled backward, barely getting their auras up in time.

Ruby dashed forward, using the momentum of her semblance to grab the man and woman and take them away to safety while Weiss used her own speed to retrieve the little boy, following closely behind.

Yang launched herself at Mercury, raining shotgun blasts at him. He narrowly dodged most of the shots and got to his feet quickly, retaliating with kicks laced with his quick silver semblance.

Gambol Shroud's ribbon flew out at the same time as Yang did and coiled itself around Emerald's neck. The dust kicked up as Blake pulled the ribbon taut and yanked her down to the ground. Emerald, through sheer athleticism, pushed herself up and spun her body through the air, unraveling the ribbon. Blake quickly retracted it and changed it to its katana form then drew her sheath with other hand, wielding her dual blades. Emerald smirked dangerously as she picked up her own dual blades and they sprinted at full speed at each other.

Yang was gaining the upper hand on Mercury, the force of her blows knocking him off balance even when he was blocking. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her back. Neo had appeared behind her and stuck the tip of her blade a centimeter into her skin. Yang spun around, her aura flaring out of pure fury and healing the shallow wound.

Neo smiled and was about to step forward when she found herself frozen on the spot by a black glyph. She had no time to react as a lightning-fast white blur lunged at her with Myrtenaster. She parried the strike, but just barely, her eyes widening at the unrestrained ferocity that Weiss was attacking her with. Feints, parries, and counters, they dueled with everything they had.  


* * *

  
"You'll be safe here." Ruby said watching the headmaster and his wife hug their son gratefully. "I have to get back to my team."

"Wait, you're the silver eyes girl!"

"You know me?"

"I have a message from Ozpin… He's alive."

"Wha-"

A loud explosion rang out from the battle ground, mostly likely from her sister's aura. "I got to go!" Ruby yelled, dashing back towards the fight.  


* * *

  
Yang dodged a kick aimed for her head and countered with perfectly timed punch from her robot arm that smashed Mercury's prosthetic leg to pieces. He landed on the ground, grimacing angrily, unable to stand up again.

"Aw, are you going to cry for real now?" Yang mocked. "You lying piece of shit!"

After a fierce clash, Blake and Weiss had Emerald and Neo disarmed and face down on the ground.

Adam had been silently watching all of this from the sidelines, cold and calculating with his mouth pressed in a tight line. Cinder on the other hand looked quite ambivalent with a small smile on her face as she watched her underlings fight and lose.

The WBY trio stared at the pair angrily and slightly confused at their lack of action. Suddenly there was a loud sound of wind whipping through fabric as Ruby came at Cinder from behind in mid-swing with her giant scythe...


	7. A Demonstration

A wall of flames erupted just Ruby was about to make contact with her scythe. The impact was like striking stone and it sent her flying back to the ground.

"Ruby!" Weiss screamed. She was by her side in an instant, holding Myrtenaster up protectively.

Blake and Yang quickly joined her, ready to face any attack, but Cinder just laughed in amusement.

"My, my, a sneak attack. I didn't think you had it in you, little girl."

Ruby leapt up immediately holding Crescent Rose, her hands still shaking from the force of the strike. She eyed Cinder and Adam nervously. There was just the two of them now, but they were the most dangerous.

Judging by the way the flames had instantly appeared without any motion of her hands or body, it appeared that Cinder had gained some sort of new power. Any wrong move at this point could lead to her friends getting hurt or killed, Ruby just couldn't let that happen. _What to do, what to do?_

"Hello Blake…" Adam said interrupting Ruby's train of thought. He smiled menacingly and added "My love."

"Don't call me that! You disgust me, Adam."

He seemed to frown ever so slightly at that, and turned his attention to Yang. "Blondie. How's the arm?"

Blake looked like she was about to lunge at his throat but Yang held out her hand and stopped her. Today was not the day to let loose her fury. She knew she wasn't strong enough yet.

"The better to smash you with," Yang answered, trying to sound confident.

Adam grit his teeth and took a step forward, his hand automatically going to the hilt of his sword but Cinder stopped him with the smallest of touches to his arm.

"Easy now, pet. We have more pressing matters to attend to."

"I told you not to call me that…" Adam muttered under his breath, relaxing his stance.

Cinder ignored him and turned to team RWBY who were staring daggers at her. "So what do we have here? Four little girls playing huntresses? Tell me, do you honestly think you can make a difference?"

Cinder smiled when she saw the uncertainty flicker in their eyes despite their efforts to hide it. "I mean, what could a little girl, spoiled brat, stray runaway, and crippled bimbo possibly hope to accomplish in this war?" she continued, feeling satisfied with the silence she received in response. But then she heard a determined voice,

"You won't win."

_What?_

"You won't win. We may not be the strongest or the smartest or the fastest, but there are others like us, and we will defeat you!" Ruby said solemnly.

Cinder scowled at the young girl's unwavering resolve. She tapped her finger to her chin, wondering what it would take to snuff out their precious spark of hope. Cinder eyed the tiny twinkling lights of the village in the far off horizon through the narrow passage of the canyon and got an idea.

"Have you heard the story about the creation of the Grimm? Darkness incarnate, feeding off humanity's deepest fears. Shadows in the night, people torn apart limb by limb, babies eaten out of their cribs… Before the Grimm, there was her, the one source of truth in the corrupted world of the humans."

Team RWBY glanced at each other nervously, confused at what she was talking about.

"Perhaps a demonstration is needed to make you understand how powerless you truly are…" she said raising her hands that were starting to glow a strange black and purple colour. "Let me show you the unparalleled power of my queen."

A dark shadow started to grow behind her, an ominous inky blackness spreading across the ground. Team RWBY watched in horror as the creatures of Grimm rose from the shadow. Beowulfs, Creeps, Ursas, and Goliaths, they just kept coming one after another, hundreds, red eyes glowing from their white masks, sharp fangs bared, and low growls coming from their throats. They hadn't moved yet, as if waiting for a signal…

"An entire village decimated and devoured by a horde of Grimm, what a fitting symbol." With that Cinder snapped her fingers and the Grimm started moving. There was so many of them that they lumbered forward at a slow pace at first.

"The village!" Ruby cried. "Everyone grab a hold onto me!"

Blake and Weiss grasped one arm, and Yang grasped the other. Ruby summoned all of her strength and launched forward in flurry of rose petals toward the village. She could still hear Cinder and Adam laughing in the distance.

Her semblance gave out just as they came through the canyon, and they tumbled onto the ground.

Ruby got up as quickly as she could, her words coming out faster than she could think. "We have to help them! We have to!"

Yang got up next, looking around frantically, trying to formulate a plan. An enormous overhanging boulder on the rock face of the canyon caught her eye. If she could just break it off and move it in front of the opening…

"You guys help evacuate the village, I'll block the canyon with that boulder," she said, pointing up at it.

"What? No!" Blake exclaimed. The idea was insane.

"You guys are the fastest, and I'm the strongest. I can hold them back..."

Ruby looked her sister in the eye with a serious expression on her face, the gears turning in her head, weighing the options, calculating the odds. If Yang could hold back the Grimm, at least for a little while, they would have a better chance at getting the people out. With a heavy heart, and worry afflicting her mind, she nodded. "We'll be back as soon as possible," Ruby promised.

Blake looked completely distraught, shaking her head furiously. "No," she said adamantly, stepping up to Yang. "It's too dangerous."

"Blake…" Yang said in a pleading tone.

"I can't lose you, Yang!" Blake burst out.

"I'm the only one who can do this!" Yang said gripping her arms.

Blake froze. It seemed like a lifetime ago when she had said the exact same words to Yang in that empty classroom. She looked into Yang's eyes, so full of determination and fire and knew she couldn't stop her. She never could. Like the sun she blazed a path into her life, gave her warmth and affection with patience and understanding, more than she thought she deserved.

A surprised squeak escaped Yang's mouth as Blake took her face into her hands and forcefully pressed her lips to hers. The kiss was rough, hot, and untamed. When they finally broke away, Yang made a frustrated high-pitched sound, not unlike a kettle boiling over. Blake panicked, feeling a blush creeping up her neck and into her cheeks. She couldn't believe she just did that.

"I-I'm sorry Yang! I don't know what came over me-"

Before she could say another word, Yang silenced her with another kiss, slower and softer this time.

Yang pulled away, a soft expression in her eyes. " _When_ we get out of this alive…" she whispered. "We're going to talk about this… And um, do it again."

Blake nodded and they stared deeply into each other's eyes for a moment.

Weiss cleared her throat loudly. "Ahem, we have to get going."

Yang broke out of her trance. "Right! Get those people to safety, I'll hold them off here!" she said, launching her gauntlets and leaping up the side of the rock face.

Ruby and Weiss dashed away to the village and Blake reluctantly followed, taking one last longing look at Yang. _You better be okay_ , she silently pleaded.

Yang watched her friends leave from the top of the canyon and concentrated her aura into her fist. With one powerful strike, she dropped the boulder on to the ground and a loud boom shook the earth. She jumped down and stared at the size, making a mental note of how much power it would take to move it.

 _I can do this_ , she whispered to herself. Yang slammed her fist into her chest, activating her semblance. The flames of her aura surrounded her as she pushed the boulder with all her might.

Bit by bit it moved, a long drawn out groan rumbling through her gritted teeth as she exerted herself to the limit. She could already hear the tell tale growls of the Grimm approaching just as she covered the opening.

Yang pressed her back against the boulder, feeling them clawing on the other side, and slammed her fist into her chest once again. "Let's do this shit!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can probably tell that Yang is my favourite character. Fun fact, "I can't lose you, Yang!" was one of the lines that inspired this chapter. For chapter 3, it was Weiss' line "That's obscene you oaf!" Funny how one line can inspire an entire chapter.
> 
> I think I'll have one chapter and a epilogue left for this shortish story. Apologies, if some of you think it is too short. This is my personal take on Volume 4, and I'm really excited to see what actually happens in canon!


	8. Heroines

Ruby ran through the village, pounding on the house doors. "There are Grimm coming! You have to get out!"

Some of the people woke up but they mostly ignored the three frantic girls yelling about Grimm.

"They're not listening!" Weiss said.

"We have to keep trying—Watch out!"

Just then a Nevermore swooped in and tore the roof clear off a house. Blake shot Gambol Shroud out in chain scythe mode and managed to catch its neck. The creature flapped its wings and she was pulled into the air.

"Blake!" Ruby screamed.

Blake swung a wide loop with her ribbon and drove her blade straight into the Nevermore's temple. It fell out of the sky and Blake leapt off its lifeless body right before impact. She was not in the mood to mess around. Blake had a promise to keep and nothing was going to stop her from seeing Yang again.

After that incident, the village people were fully awake and coming out of their houses. Team RWB hurriedly ushered them up the path to a cave carved out of the side of the mountain. Ruby used her semblance to take the children to safety first.

More Nevermore were arriving and their dark wings were filling the night sky. Some dove and snapped their beaks at the retreating people with Blake and Ruby just barely holding them off. Weiss closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could. She hadn't summoned anything since that battle with Velvet and she wasn't even sure how she did it in the first place.

 _Protect the people, protect the people,_ she chanted to herself. _Protect…_ She saw Ruby carrying a child in each arm with one on her back.

A giant knight's arm holding a sword exploded into existence from a glyph in the center of the sky. Weiss found that she could control it with Myrtenaster, a practice swing swatted three Nevermores out of flight, sending them crashing to the ground. She could get used to this.

"Keep going, I'll cover you!"

Ruby looked at her in awe. "How did you, where did you?" she stammered.

"Stop talking and move Ruby Rose!"

Ruby quickly nodded and dashed away to help Blake evacuate more people. She made a mental note to interrogate Weiss later on where she learned that awesome move.  


* * *

Yang felt the Grimm slam their bodies against the boulder over and over as she dug her heels in and pushed back. Fractures in the rock were beginning to show and dust was falling on her shoulders. She could hear their growls and claws scratching against the rapidly crumbling barrier. A large piece of stone fell on to the ground, narrowly missing her foot. It wasn't going to hold for much longer.

Yang slammed her fists together and flared her semblance. She jumped away and the boulder fell to pieces behind her. Almost instantly, a large group of Beowolves and Ursas surrounded her.

She clenched her fists tightly and stared them down. "Which one of you fuckers wants to be first?"

Suddenly a pink grenade landed in the center of the pack and exploded, sending the Grimm flying. Shocked, Yang looked up to see Nora waving cheerily at her with Ren and Jaune by her was the last thing she expected and she never thought that she would be so happy to see them. She made eye contact with Jaune, and nodded. He nodded back, the yelling match they had before forgotten.

There was no time for pleasantries though, the Grimm were rushing out of the canyon at breakneck speeds, bloodthirsty and ready to kill. But then again, the four of them were itching for a fight as well, in need of an outlet for the pent-up frustration that they had been experiencing for the last few months. They readied their weapons and leapt into action.  


* * *

Weiss skewered a Nevermore that was diving at the last of the evacuees heading to the cave. The peripheral of her vision was starting to darken and she could feel her connection to the knight's arm weakening. Without warning it shattered into a million translucent crystals. Weiss dropped her rapier and staggered backward, feeling incredibly dizzy and faint.

"Weiss!" Ruby just barely made it time to catch her. "Are you okay?"

Weiss' closed eyes slowly fluttered open. "Ruby… What... What are you doing, you have to help the others, get off me you dolt. " she said weakly, trying to push her away.

"No!" Ruby said suddenly, a bit louder and angrier than she intended. "I'm not leaving you, you're stuck with me!"

Weiss studied her for a moment, raising her hand to touch her cheek. "I suppose I am stuck with you," she conceded with a reserved smile.

After a couple of seconds of shock, Ruby grinned back at her with a tinge of pink colouring her cheeks. But the moment was cut short, a pack of Creeps started tearing through the village. It could only mean one thing. She met Blake's eyes, realization and panic hitting them both at the same time.

"Yang!"  


* * *

Yang slung her fist through the mask of a Deathstalker, fragments of white bone clattering to the ground. Tired and exhausted, she tried to ignore the burn and ache of her muscles. There was a cut above her eye oozing blood with the sweat from her forehead stinging the wound. Her aura was depleted from all the blows she was taking.

Yang was out of ammo. They all were, forced to rely on brute physical force to keep the Grimm from completely destroying them. For every Grimm they killed, two took its place. Slowly, their energy and will to fight ebbed away. How much longer could they keep this up?

Yang got hit hard in the chest by a lunging Creep and she fell back as the wind was knocked from her. She didn't have the strength to stand up, too exhausted to fight anymore. _I had a good run,_ she thought to herself, as the Creeps loomed over her. Just as they were about to attack, a black shadow whizzed by and they were cleaved in half.

Blake knelt down and put her arms around her, pressing her head against her chest.

"I told you it was a stupid plan," Blake grumbled.

"Heh. I should have listened to you… Are the villagers safe?"

Blake nodded, her eyes on the endless stream of Grimm that were advancing toward them. She looked at Yang, battered and bruised and realized that she didn't have that much left in her as well.

"Listen," Yang began, her voice taking a serious tone.

"No!" Blake cried out suddenly. _No, no, no. No more goodbyes!_ "Don't you finish that sentence, we're supposed to get out this alive remember? And go on dates and stuff."

Yang was silent, softly stroking her black hair with her left hand.

"I'm really glad you came back to me…"

"Me too…"  


* * *

Ruby ran as fast as she could holding Weiss in her arms who was slipping in and out of consciousness. Blake had gone ahead of her, too desperate to see Yang. She came over the ridge and saw a nightmare in progress.

An Ursa had Jaune hanging by the sword arm and he was kicking his legs as hard as he could to get free. Ren was on his side on the ground with Nora standing in front him, glaring threateningly at a pack of Beowolves. Yang and Blake were holding each other calmly, despite the danger around them. Everyone was on their last legs. It was happening again. People dying in front her. Friends. Family.

Ruby clutched Weiss tighter, her entire body shaking. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!" she screamed.

A bright blinding light flashed from her silver eyes, illuminating the entire area. The tired warriors shielded their eyes from the light, seeing nothing but white. When they opened their eyes again, the Grimm had been turned to stone.

Jaune fell to the ground roughly, released from the grip the Ursa had on him. He staggered away in shock and relief, marveling at the sight. Yang slowly stood up with Blake's help. They carefully stepped around the Grimm "statues" that impeded their path. Blake shuddered at the expressions on their faces, most were in mid-snarl, defiant and vicious even in their last moment.

Yang touched one on the nose. "Whoa sis…" she whispered with a child-like wonder.

Ruby was as surprised as they were. What was this power that she had? She looked down at Weiss who had watched the whole thing from her arms. She was looking up at her with a strange look on her face, a mixture of awe and nervousness. Was she blushing?

Slowly they all hobbled toward her.

"You saved us," Ren said.

"Wow Ruby, you're like, super powered!" Nora exclaimed.

"You did great, Rubes!"

"Thank you Ruby," Blake said solemnly.

Jaune was last. "Thank you."

Ruby looked down at herself abashed, not knowing what to say at all the compliments. "Aw, you guys…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait, it was a tough chapter to write with all the action going on. I hoped it turned out okay, I tried my best. There will be a short epilogue left for this story, it should come out faster. If you guys can spare a couple of seconds to leave a review, that would be cool.


	9. A Light Dessert

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Ruby asked.

Jaune smiled and ruffled her hair good-naturedly. "Thanks, but I think we're going to carve our own path. Good luck."

"You too…"

With one last wave and a smile, Ruby watched Team JNR leave on their own journey.  


* * *

After resting for most of the day, team RWBY sat together in the evening by the campfire watching the flames dance and burn. Blake and Yang were sitting quite close together on one side, and Ruby and Weiss were on the opposite side, sitting with a respectable distance between them. They didn't talk much, their minds still digesting the previous day's events. So much had happened. There were still so many unanswered questions. It was easier not to think about it, and instead focus on other things…

Blake was adorably gazing at Yang when she wasn't looking but looked away whenever she noticed. After a few cycles of this, Yang smiled and lifted her chin with one metallic finger into a tender kiss. They kissed softly and slowly, heads tilted and lips parted, trying to get deeper, wanting more of each other.

Ruby and Weiss sat awkwardly in silence at the display of affection. Ruby pointedly looking down at her clasped hands with her face flushed and Weiss looking at Ruby with her jaw tight and a blush colouring her cheeks. Of course it would be awkward seeing an older sibling blatantly making out with someone in front of them, let alone a close friend.

Weiss cleared her throat loudly. "Ahem!" They didn't stop. "Ahem!" even louder.

A gold and a lilac eye flashed dangerously at her and she took that as her cue to leave.

"Come on Ruby, we're going for a walk," Weiss said, dragging Ruby away by the hood.

They started walking through the woods. It was dark but the shattered moon high in the sky offered some radiance to light their way. Weiss noticed that Ruby was still being unusually quiet.

"What is it? Is it that strange to see Yang and Blake kissing?" Weiss certainly wasn't surprised at that turn of events.

Ruby chuckled. "No it's not that, I knew they were going to get together one of these days, it was just a matter of _when __. It's just…" Ruby trailed off._

"Just what?" Weiss prodded when she didn't continue.

"Weiss, do you think I'm a freak?"

The question took Weiss by surprise. "No. Why would you ask that?"

"Ever since that flashy light thing, you've been looking at me differently and acting kind of nervous when I'm around."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I've never heard of anything so ridiculous. You're not a freak Ruby. You're brave, resourceful, kind, and…"Cute? Weiss felt the tips of her ears redden. What on Remnant was she thinking?

"So you don't think I'm weird?"

"Well I do think you're weird but it has nothing to do with your silver eyes power," Weiss smiled.

Ruby laughed out loud at that. "Thanks Weiss."

They continued walking. Ruby felt much more relaxed after she got that off her chest, but then she started to wonder. _Why was Weiss acting nervous around her?_ Ruby smirked to herself.

"Weiss?"

"Hm?"

"Have you ever kissed someone before?"

Weiss nearly tripped on her feet. "Of course I have," she huffed.

She hadn't.

"I haven't…" Ruby confessed. "I never really felt like that for anyone before…" _Til now_.

Weiss regarded her with her ice blue eyes for a moment and then continued walking. They were quiet for a while, and Ruby thought the conversation was over but then Weiss suddenly spoke with her back to her.

"Well maybe we should… As an experiment between friends."

Ruby stumbled over, barely catching herself from falling. Weiss was standing still and looking at her expectantly.

"Really?" Ruby said, hardly able to contain her excitement. "Um, what do I do with my hands?"

"Just come here, you dolt."

They stood in front of each other for a moment, not really knowing what to do. Weiss tilted her head one way but Ruby tilted her head in the same way so that didn't work. They tried to reverse directions but had done so at the exact same time and they had mirrored each other once again.

Weiss was getting pretty frustrated at this point and yanked Ruby by the front of her shirt into a rough closed-mouth kiss. Their noses bumped painfully into each other as their lips pressed together. Weiss could smell the scent of rose petals from her semblance and Ruby could taste the spearmint from her lip balm. It was lovely. They broke away after a few seconds, breathing fast with their faces flushed.

"That was the worst kiss ever!"

"Sorry, I think I need more practice," Ruby said leaning in.

Weiss leaned back, her nose still smarting. "Er, How about we just hold hands for now?"

"Hmm. Okay," Ruby chirped.

They laced their fingers together and continued walking into the night. They could figure out what everything meant tomorrow. Their voices got quieter and quieter in the distance.

"So do you like me?"

"Ruby," Weiss warned.

"Okay, okay… But you do right?"

A loud sigh rang out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to take this opportunity to say thanks to everyone who fav'd and followed this story! I think I will be working on some AU stories next, Bumbleby centric of course ;)
> 
> By the way, I have a tumblr blog sachiel21 where I've posted some art from my fanfic Prove Me Wrong if anyone is interested. I plan to draw a few more scenes in the future. Thanks again everyone for reading!


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